If you’re expecting a heavy duty, crime-laden, back alley action film, this is not it.

Set in 1978 in Detroit, “Life of Crime” is an intriguing suspense story about a set of small-time criminals who kidnap the wife of a well-to-do estate developer and demand a million dollar ransom for her release.

Louis (John Hawkes), along with his partner Ordell (Yasiin Bey), after discovering some of the financial secrets of Frank Dawson (Tim Robbins), a real estate magnate, decide to kidnap his trophy wife Mickey

(Jennifer Aniston) when he goes on a trip to The Freeport, Bahamas.

The kidnapping is interrupted by the unexpected visit of Marshall (Will Forte), a family friend of the Dawsons, who shows up with the intention of having sex with Mickey.

The inept criminals after dealing with Marshall hold her captive in the home of one of their creepy friend, Richard (Mark Boone Jr.), a neo-Nazi with a peeping-tom problem.

Now on tenterhooks, they tell Mickey, “We don’t know Marshall and what he has got to lose. But we wonder if he would stick his neck for you.” And truly he does not.

Soon, hoping to extort the ransom, they call Frank and threaten him to pay the ransom or “you’ll never see your wife again”.

But to their surprise, they learn that he has filed for divorce and is going to marry Melanie (Isla Fisher), a younger and sexy woman who has her own agenda.

As expected, “Life of Crime” ends with a surprise alliance that makes perfect sense of random justice.

There’s a fine chemistry between each characters but the script does not give them enough space to explore the depth of their relationships, making the entire effort a superficial ‘sitcom-ish’ farce.

The period of the late 1970s is well captured, with good production values and authentic background score.

Unfortunately, this faithful adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 1978 released novel “The Switch”, which in turn has been inspired by O’ Henry’s 1907 published short story – “The Ransom of Red Chief”, has been beaten to the punch by the similar cultural tropes seen in earlier films like “Too Many Crooks”, “Ruthless People”, “The Ref” or “Hostile Hostages”.

Nevertheless, “Life of Crime” is an engaging film, worth a watch on a lazy weekend afternoon.

Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker charmed the audience at the star-studded opening gala of the seventh edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival with his humility as he accepted the Black Pearl Career Achievement award at the ceremony. Hollywood film Life of Crime gave an entertaining kick-off to the extravaganza.

“It is humbling to be in this city,” Whitaker said as he received the award on Thursday with a smile on his face. “A black pearl is a result of a lot of hard work, and I am thankful that you think of me like that,” he added. Whitaker, best known for his performances in movies like The Last King of Scotland and Bird, gave the local glitterati a treat as he sang few lines in Arabic.

For the opening ceremony, the red carpet rolled out for what turned out to be an immaculate turn out of celebrities – actors, filmmakers, technicians and officials, all dressed in their finery.

In attendance was also Australian actor Jacki Weaver, who is here to preside over the narrative competition jury. There was also Palestinian actor-director Hiam Abbass, who is a part of the jury too, and will receive the Black Pearl Achievement award later during the fest.

Ali Al Jabri, who is serving his second year as the Festival Director, said it makes him proud to see how the festival structure and attendance have expanded, setting an example for other film festivals in the Gulf region. As many as 166 films – 94 features and 72 shorts – from 51 countries are due to be screened during the festival, which will conclude November 2.

The opening ceremony, held at the majestic Emirates Palace, was attended by a bevy of Arab stars too. The auditorium was packed for the screening of Daniel Schechter’s Life of Crime, which stars Jennifer Aniston, John Hawkes and Mark Boone Junior. A crime comedy, the movie served its purpose of engaging and entertaining to the hilt as several audience members were laughing heartily in the midst of the screening. The show ended with a well-deserved applause.

Mark Boone Junior was here with Schechter and the film’s producer Ashok Amritraj for the film’s screening.

Now, festival patrons and film aficionados are looking forward to movies, masterclasses and more.

]]>http://www.bollywoodlife.com/editors-pick/abu-dhabi-film-festival-2013-forest-whitaker-jacki-weaver-and-hiam-abbass-attend/feed/0Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2013 to screen Bollywood classics Pyaasa and Garam Havahttp://www.bollywoodlife.com/editors-pick/abu-dhabi-film-festival-2013-to-screen-bollywood-classics-pyaasa-and-garam-hava/
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/editors-pick/abu-dhabi-film-festival-2013-to-screen-bollywood-classics-pyaasa-and-garam-hava/#respondWed, 16 Oct 2013 10:19:32 +0000http://www.bollywoodlife.com/?p=272269The film fest that opens with Life of Crime will celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema

Movie buffs at the 7th Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF), which begins on October 24, will be able to enjoy like Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa and Duvidha from Indian cinema which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. ‘Celebrating Indian Cinema’ is a select programme of some of the most admired films produced in a century of the US$2 billion industry,” read a statement on the ADFF official website.

Pyaasa, which also featured in TIME Magazine’s 2005 list of All Time 100 Best Movies, will be screened at the gala. The movie narrates the story of a poet struggling to be recognised in post-Independence India.

Ritwik Ghatak’s 1965 Bengali film Subarnarekha will be showcased as part of the programme while Duvidha, helmed by Ghatak’s student Mani Kaul in 1973, will also be shown to the audience at the international extravaganza that concludes November 2.

The festival programme includes Garam Hava, a 1974 movie which was also the Indian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film category. It was directed by MS Sathyu. The film, about the plight of a Muslim family in post-Partition India, is credited with being a pioneer of a new wave of Hindi art cinema.

Jahnu Barua’s Assamese film Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai, about a hardworking rice farmer’s life, is also a part of the special programme. A total of nine Indian films will find screen space at the fest.

The line up includes Punjabi movie Qissa which is set in post-colonial India in 1947 and narrates the story of a Sikh who is forced to flee his village due to ethnic cleansing. Starring Irrfan Khan, it will have its Middle East premiere.

There will also be Marathi film Fandry by Nagraj Manjule. The film zooms in on a story on India’s caste system.

Bengali filmmaker Aparna Sen’s Goynar Baksho, starring her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma, will have its Gulf premiere at ADFF, which will also screen Richie Mehta’s Siddharth about a poor Delhi street merchant desperately searching for his missing young son.

As many as 166 films will be showcased at the seventh edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) which will have Jennifer Aniston-starrer Life of Crime as its opening movie. The fest will also include a section to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema, it was announced. Life of Crime, directed by Daniel Schechter, will open the fest on October 24.

The complete line-up includes 92 features, 25 Arab and international shorts and 49 short films from the Emirates and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The movies have been brought from 51 countries and the fest will host 13 world premieres and nine international premieres.

There will be an extensive sidebar program which includes celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema, first films by select Arab filmmakers, restored classics and recipients of this year’s Black Pearl Career Achievement Award. The Arab films being screened this year at ADFF comprise mostly titles by young filmmakers.

The festival includes six competition categories – Narrative, Documentary, New Horizons, Our World, Short and Emirates Film Competitions, along with the non-competitive section, Showcase. Filmmakers participating in the competitions compete for the Black Pearl Awards.